"A tragic ending was averted this weekend near Cheslatta Falls."
Sounds like a happy ending to a perilous adventure, doesn't it? Perhaps the family involved suffered serious injuries after losing control of their canoe and smashing into a black canyon wall. Or maybe their camp was invaded and destroyed by some ravenous beast. In both cases, tragedy would have been averted when the family was rescued.
However, in order for tragedy to be averted, there must be some risk of tragedy.
Although the headlines sounded exciting, they were embellishments. Our family canoe trip on the Nechako River with two close friends and very skilled canoeists carried no more risk than a Sunday drive in the country, and we had a delightful paddle on the warmest October 19 on record. To top it all off, we were quite entertained by all of the activity on the river - an RCMP helicopter, a low-flying float plane, hunters on ATVs, and even a jet boat - until we realized late in the afternoon that we were the missing canoeists everyone was looking for. "How can that be?" we thought.
There are two reasons. First, I poorly communicated my plans to my family. I had told my mother that we were going canoeing with friends on Saturday. At some point, we had discussed dinner (Sunday evening, I had thought), but I had neglected to tell her we would be spending the night on the river. When we hadn't arrived for dinner, and then breakfast, a search was convened.
To further complicate matters, we unintentionally misinformed a curious hunter that was camped where we parked one of our cars on Saturday. He had asked one of us if we were "going to canoe down from the falls today." Not hearing him clearly, but wanting to be polite, our friend said, "Yes, we are going to canoe down the river." When we hadn't returned to our car by mid-morning the next day, a search was launched. When the two search parties met and compared stories, the search was escalated and aircraft and watercraft were involved.
The moral of this story is "Don't tell anybody where you are going or what you are doing, ever!" But, of course, that is not realistic and potentially foolhardy. Obviously, people do care, and it is unfair to make them needlessly worry. When you are going into the backcountry, make sure somebody not going on the trip knows where you are going and when you intend to be back. Let them know who they should contact if you have not returned by a certain time; especially if that contact person is your mom.
We would like to thank Nechako Valley Search and Rescue, Nechako Lodge, and the dozens of volunteers who graciously gave up their Sunday afternoon to help with the search. Your efforts are greatly appreciated and are a testament to the character and community of all outdoor enthusiasts in Northern BC. Thank you.
Travis Stringer and family and two canoeists
Prince George
